Best and easiest Screwball

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May 15, 2008
1,913
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Cape Cod Mass.
I stand at the front of the box. Back foot at front of plate.
Pitch starts as a strike out of the pitchers hand and moves/spins away from the strikezone.
Prefer to cut it off befor it reaches greater/farther away. = less adjustment.
Moving up in the box creates another issue. Let's say that the pitcher has a good breaking curve ball, you move up in the box to hit the ball before it breaks too far outside. But let's say the catcher sees you're up in the box and calls for a back door curve, which starts at the hitter and breaks into the strike zone. If you swing to hit the ball before it breaks the best you can do is a foul ball, if you don't swing it will be a called strike.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
Moving up in the box creates another issue. Let's say that the pitcher has a good breaking curve ball, you move up in the box to hit the ball before it breaks too far outside. But let's say the catcher sees you're up in the box and calls for a back door curve, which starts at the hitter and breaks into the strike zone. If you swing to hit the ball before it breaks the best you can do is a foul ball, if you don't swing it will be a called strike.
Just because a pitch is inside doesnt mean it will be hit foul.
If any pitcher wants to try and throw an inside curve to me because I stand in front of the box, where I'm going to cut it off, their welcome to throw it!
Because at that point it's just going to be a nice level strike.

Little curve ball story
There was a phenomenal right handed pitcher by the name of Susan Lefebvre her dad was pitching instructor Ron Lefebvre. She pitched for Cal State Fullerton. She threw a curve both sides of the plate.
Very well and daring!
it would completely look like it was going to Peg a right-handed batter!
Clearly it was heading towards the batter's box.
Pitch would break with such a curve it would come into be a strike on the inside of the plate.

Back in the day batters had to make an attempt to move out of the way of the pitch if it may peg them. (Couldnt just stand and get hit and get 1st base)
At times batters would move out of the way only to have the pitch turn out to be a strike. Pretty neat!
 
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Aug 21, 2008
2,359
113
The best strategy to hit the rise is not to swing :)

I disagree with this. There are plenty of people who are great riseball hitters. They keep their hands above the ball and have success with it. More HRs are hit off riseballs than anything else. In todays game a pop fly has a 50-50 shot at going 225’.

Now if you were to say swinging at shoulder high rises would be problematic I’d agree, but so would swinging at ankle high drops. Learning how to hit pitches that move, not just the mistakes and flat pitches is what separates the good hitters from the great ones. I think it’s incorrect to say all riseballs will be out of the zone so swinging at them is bad. Personally I’d rather face a riseball pitcher than a dropball pitcher when batting. But that’s just me.


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Jul 31, 2019
495
43
I meant it more in humor. With that said, in the whole scheme of thing, there are not a lot of good rise ball hitters. There are a lot of bad rise balls that get hit though.
 
Apr 11, 2016
133
28
Best screwball? Step left, throw right. Just change the angle of attack, that's enough to give an illusion to the batter.
That's what DD's PC teaches her. It works like a charm b/c no flipping your palm to cause injury. The pitch is just like a FB, except she steps to the left.
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
Moving up in the box creates another issue. Let's say that the pitcher has a good breaking curve ball, you move up in the box to hit the ball before it breaks too far outside. But let's say the catcher sees you're up in the box and calls for a back door curve, which starts at the hitter and breaks into the strike zone. If you swing to hit the ball before it breaks the best you can do is a foul ball, if you don't swing it will be a called strike.

Physics hates every sentence in this post. The ball path doesn't behave how you think it behaves.
 
May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
Physics hates every sentence in this post. The ball path doesn't behave how you think it behaves.
I'm not a believer in moving up in the box to 'hit the ball before it breaks'. I don't believe that there is sufficient late break to make this necessary, although with the right bullet/curve ball spin some late break is possible. I am turning the 'late break' theory back on those who believe in it.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
I'm not a believer in moving up in the box to 'hit the ball before it breaks'. I don't believe that there is sufficient late break to make this necessary, although with the right bullet/curve ball spin some late break is possible. I am turning the 'late break' theory back on those who believe in it.
If there was 'only one' specific spot in the box that worked best for 'everybody'~ everybody would do it.

That simply is not the case. Too many different things that affect what batters do, where they stand and why.

Heres this tidbit,
standing in the front of the box
is standing in fair territory while making contact.
the back of the box is actually already in foul territory.
Front of box, Can pull a shot and be about 20+" closer on fair side of foul line.

On a Drop ball~ pitcher will have a harder time getting a strike because it will have to stay level'ish longer by the batter staying in the air versus being deep in the box where the pitch will/can have already dropped.
To throw to my feet in the front of the box will be a ball.

Screwballs in my opinion are more of a trajectory pitch (not a moving pitch. Like a curve)
Cut off the angle sooner just like I would framing while catching.
Hit it before it comes in and jams the batter.

Hard to throw a changeup for a strike. Same reason.

For me the front of the box makes it easier to determine what is a strike. And forces a pitcher to have to get it by me to be a strike.
 
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May 15, 2008
1,913
113
Cape Cod Mass.
If there was 'only one' specific spot in the box that worked best for 'everybody'~ everybody would do it.

That simply is not the case. Too many different things that affect what batters do, where they stand and why.

Heres this tidbit,
standing in the front of the box
is standing in fair territory while making contact.
the back of the box is actually already in foul territory.
Front of box, Can pull a shot and be about 20+" closer on fair side of foul line.

On a Drop ball~ pitcher will have a harder time getting a strike because it will have to stay level'ish longer by the batter staying in the air versus being deep in the box where the pitch will/can have already dropped.
To throw to my feet in the front of the box will be a ball.

Screwballs in my opinion are more of a trajectory pitch (not a moving pitch. Like a curve)
Cut off the angle sooner just like I would framing while catching.
Hit it before it comes in and jams the batter.

Hard to throw a changeup for a strike. Same reason.

For me the front of the box makes it easier to determine what is a strike. And forces a pitcher to have to get it by me to be a strike.
I believe that most of what you say overestimates the amount that a ball breaks per foot. If we say that a ball begins to break 20' from the plate and has a 10" break that's .5" of movement per foot (and I think that this is overestimating it). So for every foot you move up in the box you are cutting off .5" of break, not much. What is forgotten in looking at it this way is the reduction in the amount of time the brain has to perceive the pitch and make it's prediction for timing and point of contact. Why is there such an emphasis on pitchers leaping as far as they can from the rubber; to cut the batter's reaction time. A batter going from the back of the box to the front is doing exactly this, and helping the pitcher.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
I believe that most of what you say overestimates the amount that a ball breaks per foot. If we say that a ball begins to break 20' from the plate and has a 10" break that's .5" of movement per foot (and I think that this is overestimating it). So for every foot you move up in the box you are cutting off .5" of break, not much. What is forgotten in looking at it this way is the reduction in the amount of time the brain has to perceive the pitch and make it's prediction for timing and point of contact. Why is there such an emphasis on pitchers leaping as far as they can from the rubber; to cut the batter's reaction time. A batter going from the back of the box to the front is doing exactly this, and helping the pitcher.
Whether it's talking about a breaking pitch that moves quite a bit or just the trajectory of a pitch that angling a direction.
Standing hitting from the front of the box,
is a strategy that worked incredibly successfully for me.
Including hitting off the best pitchers in the nation and setting College World Series hitting record.

My Philosophy on mechanics and application comes from more than just as a hitter standing in the box.
It also comes from recognizing how umpires call balls and strikes from being a catcher. Of which a lot of people never get to see from such a comparable viewpoint.

As for your comment on the time of how long the brain has to ascertain making a decision,
my hitting experience comes from pitchers starting from 40 ft....
And some of those elite pitchers leaped and crow hopped.
 
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